Published 4:38 pm, Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Another report on human rights points out the worst culprits in Latin America: Cuba, Honduras, Venezuela.

A report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a fact-finding arm of the Organization of American States, focuses on the nastiest violators in the hemisphere without regard to their politics, whether from the left or the right. The United States, for instance, has rightly been criticized for abuses at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba.

The OAS commission points out continued repression in communist Cuba and socialist Venezuela, as well as Honduras after a right-wing coup in 2009.

Cuba. Even though it finally freed the dissidents who were arrested in the so-called Black Spring of 2003, it has continued its crackdown. There were more than 3,000 temporary detentions of dissidents in the first six months of 2012 alone.

Venezuela. From constitutional changes that turn the president into king to a shameful murder rate and kidnappings of political opponents, Venezuela is far from a democracy. It has adopted the Cuban model of detentions without charges.

Honduras. A deadly fire at the national penitentiary, the assassination of human rights activists, community leaders and journalists, and the stacking of the judiciary to remove its independence all raise serious questions about President Porfirio Lobo's commitment to democracy.

Whether the assault on liberty comes from the left or right, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights gives desperate citizens a voice that all nations must honor.